Pirates of the Caribbean: Closed Eye on Horizon
by Crimson Beauty911
Summary: A strange feeling was building up inside him, pressing painfully on his ribs as it struggled to be set free. William never has to know, Jack said to assure her, moving his mouth temptingly closer to hers. summary inside Please review
1. Intro & Summary

**'ello poppets. Nina and Tink here! Keep in mind that this is our roleplay, so that may explain the choppiness and breaks in paragraphs. Bear with it and you'll find it's actually quite an interesting story. Hey, it's one of the few roleplays that didn't die after the first hour, so we figured we'd treat fanfictiondotnet with this lovely peice of literature. Alright, shall we begin? **

Stuck somewhere within the ten years William is aboard the Dutchman, Jack Sparrow is without his precious Pearl and Elizabeth without her lover. With a quest for a legendary Fountain of Youth and the retreival of his ship, Jack somehow finds himself aboard a dingy- with Elizabeth Turner along the ride with him! She's married, sure, but with Will gone for a good while, there's nothing keeping Jack Sparrow back from settling his crave for another deadly kiss with the bonny lass. Then again, when you're kissing Jack, it doesn't stay just kissing for too long, and Elizabeth has forgotten how many years have passed since she last saw her husband.

"Keep a weather eye on the horizon" He said, but Elizabeth has closed her eyes.


	2. Reunion

**A/N: Oh, yes. Something I forgot to mention. Me and Tink didn't include the part of the movie after the credits where Elizabeth has Will's child. So that explains the lack of Will Jr. in this story. Anyway, read on my lovelies.**

**Pirates of the Caribbean: Closed Eye on the Horizon **

**Chapter One**

**Reunion**

The air held a salty taste to it, beckoning Jack out of his deep slumber. His lips twitched, then his nose, and then his dark brown eyes from beneath the lids. Slowly, his kohl-framed eyes flickered open, a grumbling noise emitting from his throat. He rolled over onto his side, dragging the thin sheets soaked with sweat and countless other things along with him as he nearly rolled off the mattress. It was the close call that shot open his eyelids and helped him take his first big breath of the morning. Unfortunately, he had little time to enjoy it. Now was the hard part of his womanizing ways. As quietly as possible, Jack Sparrow crept from the bed, leaving behind the sleeping wench that had given him good dreams that night. He gathered his clothing that had been strewn about the room rather carelessly and he proceeded to attempt to dress himself whilst walking out the door, but not before he grabbed a half empty bottle of rum from the beside table.

Ah, yes. Today would be a good day for sailing, Captain Jack Sparrow concluded as he took another breath of the air. He managed to get into his trousers and scuffed sea boots. Now, as he carried himself down the staircase in the pub at Tortuga, he began to shimmy into his white cotton shirt and tie his dirty white sash around his waist. The scent of rum invaded his nose as he hit the bottom floor. A few men and women were scattered about, flirting and laughing and talking loudly. This was Tortuga, no matter what time of day, it was likely to be loud and filled with people's loud and dirty conversations. With a short swig of rum, Jack Sparrow was out the door and waltzing down the cobblestone streets.

Where to, where to. Of course, he had to pick up a few supplies before heading back to that pitiful dingy of his. There wasn't much his current vessel could carry, but it was better to be overpacked than underpacked. Besides, he'd have the Pearl back under his command soon enough. Barbossa had stolen it several times before, and Jack had won it back each time. What made this time different? First, he would obtain his ship back, and then off to the Fountain of Youth.

---

"If your filthy eyes come toward me one more time I'll have them floating in your flask before you can say 'Aye'," A rather annoyed female voice spoke in a more than confident tone as she glared down a man who looked as though he hadn't bathed in over a month - probably more of a fact than theory - and had about has many teeth as she did toes. She had been walking through the streets of Tortuga most of the morning, unsure of what to do with herself. Her father was gone, she would not see Will for another ten years, and maybe even part of her was missing the sea. Maybe she was hoping to run into the crew - maybe go with them for awhile. Maybe more long term.

Of course, that would lead to Jack Sparrow. That man was more trouble than he was worth. Elizabeth knew that much from all the times she had to be on his side for one reason or another. She once believed him to be selfish, but now she wasn't even sure he was that. Well, yes, he was, but oddly enough on some occasions he seemed to carry a heart of his own. Quite strange really. One wasn't about to figure out Jack anytime soon and she was certain she didn't want to be around to try.

Her brown shoes walked through the nearly quite streets of Tortuga, since most of the residents were still hung over or not awake from the night before's festivities this town was pretty much hers for the taking. Not that it was much to behold. Her eyes glanced over the different men passed out on the corners or the others trying to be suave and look at her with a 'charming' eye. Her dirty blonde locks were pulled away from her face in a ponytail with an old piece of brown cloth, as she wore an old and rather worn cream colored dress. Nothing too over the top, but she at least look more like a lady than she had for the past few months.

She was heading toward the docks, find herself a ship - hopefully the Pearl, maybe even the crew and take off. Go where ever they were going. That's when she saw him a sight that made her stop dead in her tracks. He was right in front of her coming down the street in her direction. She thought of what would be better; to ignore him and pray he didn't see her or to speak and hope it was just small talk and she'd be on her way.

She unfortunately chose the latter, "Why hello, Jack Sparrow."

---

Hiding a face like Jack Sparrow's in a place like Tortuga was not the simplest thing to do. In fact, it might as well be one of the hardest. The pirate had been around from time to time, meeting about everyone the village at least once, or at least gotten his name around to them. Everyone knew Jack Sparrow, and if they didn't, and happened to be a pretty girl or a wealthy man, they would soon, whether it be in a pleasurable late-night way or an angry theiving kind of way. So as Jack sauntered down the streets, he made an attempt to duck behind each nearby cart or plant that was in sight whenever a familiar face that he wasn't willing to deal with right now passed his sight.

Jack took a nice sip off his rum every now and then, dark brown eyes flitting around either as lookout for those familiar faces he didn't want to see, or potential crew members he would have to gather once he regained the Black Pearl back. Gibbs was certaintly still in the area, having run into Jack quite a few times now. Pintel and Ragetti were probably off on a useless side quest for no apparent cause. And Cotton and his parret and little midget Marty couldn't be far. Jack would have to round them up again sooner or later, but now was not the time.

Gunpowder was first on his list, and Jack was just about to easily stop by the nearest shop that sold the stuff when he heard a greeting come from the lips of a woman. He stopped suddenly, blinking in front of him with squinted eyes as he expected the slap. When it didn't come, he opened his kohl-lined eyes to peer upon no other than Elizabeth Swann, or Turner, if she'd rather. He never really liked addressing her like that, with William's last name, and he wasn't quite sure why.

Without a thought, just as a natural reaction, Jack thrust his half-empty bottle of rum into the nearest plant, hiding it best he could from Elizabeth. He didn't want her destroying anymore of his rum, now did he? Who knows, he wasn't thinking completely clearly, suffering from a slight hangover. Then again, when _was_ Jack thinking clearly, or not having a hangover. He was pratically immune to the things anyway. "Ah, Elizabeth." He murmured charmingly in return, his dirty eyes looking her up in down with a perverted sort of pleasure. "Long time, no see, love."

---

Crossing her arms over her chest as if to hide herself best she could from his ever wandering eye, but still something instead her stopped her from slapping him everytime he did it - and she caught him quite often. She wasn't even sure why she had decided to speak with him, she probably could have walked right past him in a hurried fashion in hopes that his buzz from the rum would only make him think she was another woman on Tortuga that he could bed - which of course he would not with her anyway.

"Pleasure is all mine," She feigned politeness as she watched the man for a moment, it still was rather profound to her that through all the things Jack had gone through that he was still the laid back pirate that he was. Ship stolen countless times, crew leaves him whenever they see a better profit, being chased by the Flying Dutchmen, things like that would probably have an affect on most people - even pirates, but not Jack. That quality almost made Elizabeth respect him, but that was a mere thought that would never be spoken. God forbid his ego get any larger than it already was.

"Where is the rest of your crew?" Elizabeth asked, getting slightly down to business before conversation fell completely to the waste side, "I - I would like to join you on whatever plan you have next."

What was she getting herself into?

---

Jack Sparrow watched her silently with a weary eye, the other one had closed completely. He was still trying to get used to this lighting, wake up a little bit more from last night's wild ride. Though, luckily, he wasn't that sore. The person to be worried about was probably the sleeping wench he left back in the Tortuga pub.

The pirate shook his head slowly, looking from side to side as he did so, as if making sure he wasn't being watched. He had no reasoning or need to do this, Jack was just simply insane, or at least a little bit. The talking miniatures of him on his shoulders hadn't visited him for awhile. Was it crazy for him to say he missed the little guys?

Once Elizabeth spoke again, grabbing back the pirate's attention, Jack was all her's, eyes roaming again. When she asked to be a part of his crew, he laughed loudly, startling the few hungover men collapsed against the buildings surrounding them."That would be impossible." He told her, fishing his rum back out of the plant to take a sip. "I haven't a crew." he gulped down the alcoholic liquid. "Nor a ship!"

---

Hungover. Go figure, was there ever a moment in Jack Sparrow's life when he wasn't hungover? Elizabeth was beginning to think that even when he was drunk he was still slightly suffering from the hangover of his pervious drinking experience. Foul was probably the word most would use to discribe such a person, but through her time of knowing Jack she wasn't sure foul would be the word she'd use. Possibly unfathomable, but not foul. Not most of the time anyway. Her eyes lingered toward where ever he was looking for someone, but she saw nothing and just turned a curious eye back toward him.

Elizabeth watched as he dug through a nearby plant, obviously digging for the rum flask he had rid himself earlier. She rolled her eyes slightly and moved her arms from across her chest to on her hips. "No ship or crew?"

She should have figured, Jack Sparrow was usually lacking something - or all things for that matter. The amazing part was that he usually found a way to get them back without causing any harm to himself or others. She shook her head slightly and gave almost a knowing laugh, "What sort of pirate are you anyway? You lose everything except your precious rum."

---

Jack Sparrow smiled proudly, of course knowing a way to retort back to her as he inflated his ego. He turned over the bottle of rum, letting the few droplets that were left trickle into his mouth. He wasn't drunk yet, and he wasn't too terribly hung over despite how much rum he had consumed the night before. He quickly tossed the empty glass bottle out towards the sea, though everyone knew Captain Jack Sparrow would never litter into his precious beauty, the sea. It simply shattered into tiny glass fragments on the dock next to a pitiful looking homeless man. He turned back to Elizabeth, same smug smile on his lips.

"Aye, but if I was anything less than a great pirate, other's wouldn't find a need to steal from me." He replied, stepping just a tad closer to the woman. He hadn't seen her in quite awhile, and he wouldn't admit it, but his mind had wandered back to her quite a few times before.

Yes, it was likely that people stole from Jack the things he loved most because the things he loved most were very valuable. His ship, his crew, his maps. "Let them steal, the buggers. I'll always end up back with me ship one way or another." he announced triumphitly as he ran his rough, warm hand down the side of Elizabeth's face and neck.

---

Elizabeth watched as Jack finished off his rum in a true Sparrow fashion and tossed it toward the dock, she didn't look to where it had landed, but the shattering of the glass was a dead giveaway. She wasn't sure why she was even still standing here, Jack obviously couldn't help her. He had no ship, no crew, and no map. That was a first, if he had a map the rest were just details, but going out onto the sea without some sort of guide was near suicide or plan crazy.

When he stepped closer something told her to take a step or two back, but she stood her ground. Oddly enough she wasn't even bothered by his obvious ways of trying to sway a lady into thinking of him as charming. Jack Sparrow charming? Ha, that was a good one. Well, maybe he was charming, but definitely not in the conventional way that most women would think of as charming. Now, Will was charming. Will Turner. That's right, she had a husband now. Elizabeth Turner. She was married and madly in love. Not seeing him for ten years wasn't going to bother her because she knew it was well worth it. Yes, very well worth it. Right?

She'd never admit to this, but somedays she didn't think it was. It hadn't been but a week since she last saw him and she was supposed to wait ten years? A woman had needs after all - wait, she wasn't some wench. She wasn't about to sleep with every man that came into sight. Absolutely not. She loved Will - or at least had strong feelings for Will. It was just all complicated and she wasn't about to question everything now. Not with him being away - she wasn't in the proper mind set to do so.

Elizabeth did react however when Jack's hand reached out and touched her face, She grabbed his wrist with slight force and held it away from her slightly, "I am married now, Jack. Don't be such a fool."

---

Once Elizabeth snapped to, and grabbed his wrist, Jack chuckled softly. He had never expected her to let him get away with touching her, flirting and charming her. But as much as the married woman didn't want to admit it, Jack could tell she thought about him, at least a little bit. He even liked to think that she found him a little bit charming, even though he wasn't trying to be at the moment. He tugged his wrist away from her grasp, smiling at her softly.

"Is that so?" he murmured softly, obviously thinking it as hardly an obsticle at all. Since when did Elizabeth being engaged to, in love with, married to, whatever with William stop the infamous Jack Sparrow from being this said "fool"? Never.

"Well, Elizabeth." He started reaching down towards his belt for the compass he had hanging there. "I have a vessel. It isn't very large at all, but you're welcome to squeeze in back and stay for the ride." Jack said, turning away from her to flip open the contraption and watch the little arrow spin. For a short moment, he stared at the thing, grimaced, and closed it again before the arrow could stop completely. "Who knows, maybe we'll end up somewhere useful, or maybe we'll find the Pearl." He turned back to her, placing a smile back on his lips. "And why was it that you wanted to join my crew?" he asking, knowing the reply would no doubtedly being something about William.

---

Elizabeth watched as he gave his usual response to anything that would surprise or even insult a normal person - a soft chuckle. How could he be so calm in all things? A trait that Elizabeth found herself wishing she had in her, but she never was one to just 'roll' with things. Wasn't her nature and probably never would be. Her eyes glanced over his features, she would be lying if she said she never thought of him or wondered about him from time to time, but that was beside the point. She was married to Will and she loved him. Yes, loved.

She have a soft nod at his remark, but she didn't feel the need to say anything more. He knew she was married and that she was always involved with Will, why play dumb? Because that was the beauty of Jack's charm. Charm? Elizabeth thought Jack Sparrow was charming? Another thing she'd never admit to. Her hands shook slightly at the thoughts that ran through her mind - as they had many nights before, but she shook them from her mind as Jack spun around and she wanted to know what she was doing. Of course, before she could actually steal a glance he had spun back around and admitted he had a vessel. Not a ship...a vessel. Wonderful.

"Fine. I'll go." Elizabeth agreed without a second thought, she honestly didn't have much of a choice. Why was she going? Well, that was simple...kind of. "Um, well you know Will only comes around once every ten years. I - I can't go home. It's not like they'd welcome me with open arms, and well - I refuse to become some filthy wench that lives on Tortuga for all eternity. That only has to look forward to bedding pirates like you for a lifetime. No thanks."

---

Again, he replied with only a soft chuckle. This one seemed rather amused, though. He shook his head softly, patting his pockets repeatedly to make sure that a few things were still there. Jack turned back around, preparing to lead Elizabeth to his...'vessel'. "No thanks? Ah, but how can you say that? Have you ever bedded a pirate such as me?" Jack asked, not phased in the least by her comment. He was used to her insults, and could easily slide past them by now.

Sparrow marched down the dock, crunching lazily over the shards of glass spread across the place. As he passed a ship that was being loaded with weapons and supplies, he plucked a few bags of gunpowder from their load. He whipped out his pistol, easily sliding open a latch and trickled some of the black crumbles into his gun.

"Oh, uh..." He muttered, stopping his casual reloading and tossed his gaze over to his right. There, floating pitifully in the ocean watered, tied to the dock, was a dingy, big enough for only about three or four people, and barely that. "There's the vessel."


	3. Damn Compass

**Chapter 2**

**Damn Compass**

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, had she ever bedded a pirate like him? She had only been with one man and that was only a mere few weeks ago. It wasn't as though she were as 'experienced' as these wenches were and she really didn't want to be. She couldn't help but have those thoughts that made her shake come through her mind again, this time they weren't as easy to rid herself of. Her knees almost became weak at his comment. What was wrong with her? She was a married woman and he was - Jack Sparrow. She never wanted anything to do with him - in fact, she was sure they had a love/hate relationship.

She was just being a bit silly because of Will being gone from her for ten whole years. She wouldn't see him, have any sort of contact with him, nothing. It was getting to her, that was it, nothing more. She had no sort of feelings for Jack Sparrow. She had tried killing him once before, was that a sign of good feelings? Absolutely not.

"Um," She was going to answer his first question, although she wasn't exactly sure how until she saw the 'vessel' they were to travel the seas on. Good God, what had she gotten herself into? She was going on a dingy with Jack Sparrow to God only knows where. She wanted to scream at him, tell him where exactly he could place that dingy, but instead she just took a deep breath, "Well, I suppose you're the captain. So where to?"

---

Two shoulders raised limply in a shrug to answer Elizabeth's question. He noticed how she didn't reply to him about the bedding of the pirates. Jack couldn't help but smile just a tad as he turned his back to her and began to fish around inside the dingy. He yanked his large Captain's coat out from the bottom and flung it casually over his shoulders, shrugging it into place. He didn't glance at her again until he had his footing comfortably inside the dingy. He reached a rough work-worn hand out to the married woman to help her aboard.

"Barbossa won't get away with stealing me ship." he answered rather plainly, his tension of losing his boat again held up inside. Jack looked up at her, eyes narrowed slightly as he examined her in a way he knew would make her uncomfortable. He began to chuckle softly, like had been doing lately. Finally, he explained his laughter. "You've lost it." he told her without explaining exactly what he meant.

---

Elizabeth watched as he slid his coat on, although she wasn't exactly sure why he did, it was awfully hot outside and it hadn't even hit midday. She could already feel the slight moisture of sweat forming on her neck and brow, but that was a feeling she was quite used to now. She wasn't sure she'd actually even been cool since they hit the freezing tempertures to find Jack. Although, come to think of it, she wasn't sure that she even wanted to be that cold again. That was too much. She listened to his laughter, there was something different in his tone this time, but she wasn't about to ask what it was. She didn't need him knowing she was taking notice to the tones of his laughter.

Her eyes traveled down to where his hand stuck out to help her on board and this was her moment - she could change her mind. Stay in Tortuga until a good ship comes along and takes her back home. Home to what? Nothing. Her father was gone and Will wasn't there. She had nothing to travel back to. In all honesty there wasn't a choice. She reached out and grabbed his hand firmly and stepped into the dingy with little trouble.

She didn't drop his hand immidiately, something she didn't have time to notice because her thoughts were on the fact that his gaze was more than pleasent on her and then his little comment. She'd lost it? She didn't want to ask what he meant, but before she could even stop herself she spoke.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

---

His hand still clasping hers, Jack's eyes twinkled devilishly. He grinned in a strange sort of way, like he was only slightly unhappy, but smiling anyway, pretending he was fine with it. Sparrow always seemed unphased by things that should really startle him. He always seemed calm in situations that should scare him half to death. Part of it could be because the pirate himself had lost something as well; a chunk of his sanity. It wouldn't be a shock at all.

Jack didn't let go of her hand until he made it rather obvious that he was enjoying the touch. He lowered his gaze to their hands, a smug look on his face. She had kept holding his hand, subconsiously. He didn't address it, but made a note of it. Another ego boost for Jack Sparrow, like he really needed another one.

"You've lost you're virgin glow." he explained, settling himself down at the head of the dingy. He situated himself, waiting for Elizabeth to settle firmly inside the little boat before he smoothly sailed off the subject like it was nothing. "Mind untying that for me, love?" he requested, nodding towards where the rope attached to the dingy was tied tightly to the dock.

---

When she finally realized she was still holding his hand the sensation was nearly overwhelming. It was a mix of confusion and dare she say - lust. No, she didn't. In fact, she wouldn't because that's not what it was. Well, if it was it was all coming from him, not her. Never from her. She felt her fingers twitch slightly and looked at him, awaiting his answer, acting as though she still hadn't realized they had touched and were still touching. What was she playing at? Whatever it was she had a feeling it wasn't going to end up well for her. God help her now.

His answer nearly stunned her to the floor of the small dingy. It was probably a good thing it didn't since that probably would have sent them both over the edge and into the salty water. She did however take her hand away after seeing his eyes travel toward it and take note of the interaction. Great, maybe she wouldn't be fitting in this boat after all, not if his ego got any bigger.

"Well, then I suppose I am of no interest to you anymore. Someone beat you to the punch." She said in a cynical sort of way. She wasn't even sure where the comment had come from and she wasn't even sure of the tone. She just swallowed hard and took a seat into the boat across from where Jack was. When he pointed toward the rope she sat near she reached out and undid it without even a hint of doubt.

She was officially Jack Sparrow's crew.

---

Watching her undo the knot in the tie willingly stained a smile to his face. As much as she seemed like she didn't want to do it, didn't want to be here with Jack Sparrow, she willingly became part of his two person crew. He leaned back comfortably, crossing his strong arms behind his head and raising his eyes up to the baby blue sky. The clouds were only whisps of white against it. It looked like a good few days of sailing. And that was a very fortunate thing, for if they were caught in a storm on this worthless dingy, they'd be in big trouble.

"Who said I was interested in deflowering you?" he asked her, looking over at her for a faint moment. "I'd like someone with a little more experience anyway, someone who's had a practice round or two." He was using himself as a human upgrade. You start off small, with someone who doesn't matter and couldn't amaze you, and then you go to Jack Sparrow and prepared to be stunned by all that he had.

Suddenly, Jack bent sat back up, sending Elizabeth a strange look. He darted out a hand and reached down between her legs. Yes, it looked strange and was a rather awkward situation, but it was no doubtedly for a completely different reason. Sure enough, Jack rolled out quite a few full bottles of rum from where he had stashed them beneath the woman's seat. He took one, and placed the other's back.

---

Elizabeth couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable about their current conversation. She looked around at everything except Jack. She wasn't at all willing to face such a conversation, although her mind couldn't help but travel to such territory every now and again. What was wrong with her? She was a married woman, a happily married woman - alright maybe just married. She did love Will, a lot. Why else would she marry him? She couldn't answer that, but ten years was a long time and things - things were never easy. Ever. At least not for her, why should this sort of thing be any different?

"May we stop such conversation since we are only on this small dingy and I really wish not to have a dead captain to carry around with me on these seas." She bit back, hiding any sort of amusement or interest she had in further discussing such affairs, mostly because she had no further interest. That's right - Elizabeth Swann - no, Turner, was not interested in Jack Sparrow.

She really was an awful liar.

Before she could say anything else she saw his arm dive between her legs and her eyes went wide with shock and near horror. She gave a small scream of surprise and tried to jump back, making the dingy rock slightly. Realizing she had no place to go she was simply just going to kick him, but then his arm moved away from her and he revealed in his hand a bottle of rum. Her glare was cold as she gave a pitiful groan.

"You are unbelievable."

---

To the comment about having a dead captain, he merely shot her a glance. It contained the obvious amusment that she had lacked when she said it. He didn't have time to reply it before Elizabeth shrieked with surprise at where his hand had seemed to be going. He chuckled as he bit the cork off the bottle and took a small swig, waiting for the dingy to stop rocking against the ocean.

"Or maybe you just think the worst of me." he replied, watching her with one eye as he lazily reclined backwards to drink his rum. From somewhere along his beltline, he fished out his compass, though refused to open it. He simply set the contraption beside him and sat up straight once more. "Besides, love. I like to take things a bit slower than that."

He smiled, shaking the compass beside his ear now. He knew better than to say it was broken, but Captain Jack Sparrow would never admit he did not know what he wanted. Instead, he grabbed up an oar to the little dingy and plopped the end of it into the slightly churning waters.

---

A mere grumble emitted from Jack's throat as she made how clear it was that he wasn't a gentleman. That was alright. He never did like to call himself a gentle kind of man. It was funny how he could take Elizabeth's insults as compliments. Truly invincible, he seemed to be. Whilst taking another sip of rum, his dark brown eyes scanned over the calm sea. The dark facial hair over his top lip twitched faintly as he thought over where to go or what to do. It was then that his one and only crew member questioned him.

"Ah, we have a destination, love. We just have to find it!" He told her with a pirate's smug grin. There he went with his nonesense riddles. This one was mild. Any more questioning from Elizabeth and they would find him engaged in a long, fast spoken riddle of who does what to get where for this and that. Something that no one but him would understand, and sometimes not even that.

Jack's eyes stumbled back onto the compass that sat beside him. Silently, he set down his flask of rum and picked up the thing, turning it over and over in one of his large hands. It never had worked very well for him, but maybe it would do him some good, help them find out where they were supposed to be heading. With that, he flipped it open and watched the small red arrow spin for awhile, and then begin to stop momentarily and then spin again, and then stop, and then spin again. Finally it landed right ahead of him, and his eyes raised to where it pointed, right between Elizabeth's legs. He twitched a little and coughed, looking back down at the contraption with an angry expression. 'Rum, of course.' he told himself, shaking the thing madly.

He raised the compass above his head, tilting it over to watch it spin. Then he held it out to the left of him, and then to the right, trying to see if it made any difference. Finally, he just dropped the thing right next to him once more and began to drink his rum again.

---

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, was there really a point in questioning Jack Sparrow? Even when he did give you an answer it was one no normal human could understand without hours of thinking, she mostly figured that was because it had no true meaning other than that Jack had no idea. She just sighed and leaned forward so that her elbows were resting on her knees, might as well make herself comfortable, this was going to be a long boat ride. Dingy ride to be exact. The sun was going to become her worst enemy, she could already feel her skin turning slightly pink from the warm blaze.

She leaned back after a moment in hopes of getting a better shot at the small breeze that was coming around. Her neck and chest area were already glistening from the small amount of sweat that had started to form on most of Elizabeth's body. She ran her hand over her neck slightly to wipe away any droplets, but she wasn't that hot yet. She was just slightly toasty. She was brought back to attention when she heard Jack fidgeting in front of her.

Her brown eyes turned back down and saw him looking at that compass that he was usually carrying around. Although she wasn't really sure why since every time he used it he seemed to get upset with the whole idea and put it down once more. How could he be mad at it? It was a compass, it just told where they were going, couldn't change that, right? After he had his little fit, Elizabeth wasn't sure what exactly sparked that little showcase, but she just shrugged it off and looked back toward the water.

"Alright, well do you at least know where they were going with your ship?"

---

Jack had busied himself with rowing the boat through the patch of thick, tall seaweed they had run through. By now, they were a good ways from the dock, but for some reason they were still in the shallows. The pirate grumbled again, tossing his gaze back to the compas every so often to sneer at it. Maybe if he was mean enough to it, it would get it's act together and tell them where to go. He doubted it. For some odd reason, the compass never worked for him. It never told him what he wanted most in this world. Well, when it did, it was something minor, never something big.

When a breeze prickled by, Jack raised his face to it, quickly poking a finger into his mouth to wet it and then holding it up in front of him. It was blowing in their direction, but it wasn't enough to pull the boat. He turned his attention back to Elizabeth for a moment.

"Yes! _But_, It is nigh impossible that Barbossa would be there, nor be anywhere on track of this said place they were going...with my ship." he told her, adding in the last part in pure disgust. Barbossa really had it coming once the pirate lord caught up with him. This was about the upteenth time his vessel had been stolen by the back-from-the-dead Hector Barbossa.

"You see, they don't have the- Oh, goody!" Jack cut off to stand up in the little dingy, rocking it slightly. He tugged at the strings to let loose the small sails. Finally, the wind had picked up a bit stronger and in the direction they were heading in, which was no where, of course. Perhaps just out to sea. Anyway, at least now Jack didn't have to row.

---

"Does this location even have a name?" Elizabeth asked as she watched Jack stand up and pull the sail so that they were traveling at a much nicer pace now. She was quite glad, not only did she feel they were actually heading somewhere now - even if that wasn't true, but the breeze felt much nicer. Not the forced little blow they had been getting earlier. She reached out for the edge and ran her fingers through the cool water before pulling them back out once again.

It was going to be a long trip and she wasn't sure how she'd get comfortable, unless she got flat drunk, which she never planned on doing, especially in front of Jack. That was just asking for - well, nevermind. Her attention was drawn back to Jack for a second before she stuck out her hand, "Let me see that compass. You're always having such a time with it, maybe I'lltry my luck with the fickle thing."

Her hand was stuck out waiting for him to hand it to her and she wasn't going to take no for an answer, "Why do you have such a time with it anyway?"

---

Eyeing the girl carefully, he took another long swig of rum. The dingy-ride would go by rather nicely if he were drunk. And when was Jack Sparrow _not_ drunk? Never. He took another swig, and looked away from Elizabeth. She asked too many questions for Jack's comfort. He figured, since he had known the girl for a good several years, she would be intitled to some of what was happening with him, especially if she was involved. Still, Jack was Jack, and he was a greedy and secretive pirate.

Not answering her first question, he clutched the compass, that had somehow found it's way back into his hand, closer to him rather possessively. He flipped it open for just a moment, grimacing at the result. A hum like sound emitted from his throat as he looked down at Elizabeth's extended hand. Maybe, just _maybe_ it would work for her.

"Elizabeth, you're a stable girl. You know what you want, right?" Jack asked with a grin as he slowly reached out and placed the compass in her hand. Taking his flask of rum with him, he rummaged around until he had seated himself beside her so he could peer over her shoulder.

"Open it." He urged.

---

Elizabeth watched as he became nearly obbessively protect of his precious compass. Goodness, that thing must be worth a lot of money if Jack was that protective over the item. She still waited with her arm outstretched. She wasn't going to take no for an answer, if it would help them get anywhere she'd sit there like that all day, even if her arm got tired. Luckily for her she didn't have to do that, instead he handed it over at quite a few minutes of deciding whether or not it was worth it.

Stable girl. Why yes, she was. Up until recently at least. She had always figured she had a good head on her shoulders, it never seemed to do her wrong. Of course, recently things had been slightly different. She found herself questioning the very things she once help so dear and true, just look at her! She was off in a dingy with Jack Sparrow. With no real destination in mind and the oddest part was - she wasn't even nervous. Nothing. She was completely content.

Maybe she wasn't so stable.

She looked at him for a second and then down at the compass that now rest in her hands. She took in a deep breath and reached out with the other hand and opened it with ease. The thing spun slightly for a moment, but almost imidiately went to right where Jack was looking over her shoulder. Her eyes went wide and she shut it quickly, praying he hadn't seen in the direction it had pointed - fat chance.

"My mind wasn't clear, I'll try again." She mumbled, a blush creeping into her cheeks. She closed her eyes again this time focusing hard on anything but Jack and on a particular destination, mostly the Black Pearl. Finally a nervous hand reached out and opened it again, the compass for a mere second paused on Jack once again, but then flipped completely and pointed dead ahead of them.

"Guess we are heading in the right direction."

---

Jack seemed to be ticking like a clock as he waited for the compass to show them where their destination lay. His deep, dark brown eyes never left the little arrow as he began to spin just a bit. When it pointed to some place beside Elizabeth, Jack's brows furrowed and he looked over his shoulder to the sea beside him, and then it hit him. It had been pointing to _him_. A smile drenched his lips as he thought about it. He liked telling himself that she was crazy for him, and this just added fuel to the fire.

Once Elizabeth had closed the compass for a second time, her last try showing that they were heading in the right direction, Jack took up his possession. He glanced down at it for a moment, brushing it off a bit before hanging it back on his belt. However, he didn't move from beside Elizabeth. He simply threw his arms behind his head and leaned back, kicking up his feet.

"Now, Elizabeth. Are you sure? The compass points to the thing you want most...in the world..." he stopped and grinned to himself. "Is what you want most, _really_ finding the Pearl?"

No, he wasn't going to say anything about what it had pointed to the first time. She knew what it had pointed to, and so did he. It was sort of a silent teasing method. Jack said nothing at all on the subject. He simply reached over to grab his rum and take a good and long drink from it. After swallowing down the liquid, he offered the bottle to Elizabeth whilst he gave her a questionable look. She couldn't say she didn't drink rum, because that was be a dirty lie.

---

She could still feel the blush in her cheeks as he moved away from her and looked out toward the direction the compass had made her lead it to. She could always just blame the blush on the sun, it was warm out here and her fair skin did burn easily. No big deal, right? Elizabeth thought on his question of course, after glaring at him for the silent way he teased her about the first time the compass had opened.

Of course he had seen it, it was right in front of him and he hadn't taken his eyes off of it since it was placed in her hand and there really was no denying what had come up on that stupid compass. Wanted more than anything in the world? She highly doubted that was Jack Sparrow - sure, she had some thoughts, but she was human and well - nevermind. She wasn't going to go through all that in her mind. It wasn't worth it because she was married, to a man who she wouldn't see for ten years.

"Do shut up." She mumbled to herself as her thoughts went astray before she actually looked up and decided to answer Jack. Had she wanted the Black Pearl more than anything in the world right at that moment? Actually, yes. She had.

"We're going in the right direction." She nodded.

---

"Ah, such a grump." he muttered back to her. Honestly, he did believe her when she said they were heading in the right direction. What else could she possibly want more in the world than getting off this little dingy and into some place she could actually _breathe_ in. He could read the need for it in her features. Jack, however, found himself getting quite used to the dingy. It had been his idea to take this particular one out to sea while he searched for his real _beloved_ vessel. Yes, he did believe he was toss one of the old dingys that he had stored inside the Pearl and replace it with this one

Still holding out the rum to her, he snickered quietly. He had noticed the blush some time ago, but had was pretty happy with the way he was silently telling her he knew _all_ about what had just happened. He hadn't missed one minor detail. She couldn't hide it now.

"Here, love. Rum makes the trip go by faster." He said, still offering. Okay, maybe it didn't make it any _faster_, but it made the trip _funner_. Good advice would be just to take the stuff. How often did Captain Jack Sparrow share his rum with anyone? Barely ever, unless some kind of celebration was at hand, and still hardly even then. Although, he seemed pretty content with sharing it with the woman beside him. He had to admit, Elizabeth plus even a little rum turned out to be a good time...up until she burns the rum afterwards, of course. Jack grimaced at the horrid memory.

---

She wanted to say no to the rum, just shake her head and refuse to speak for the rest of the trip, however long that was going to be. She'd just watch the sea and pray they saw the ever familiar black sails of the Pearl. She would go insane before that, she knew it. She had to have some sort of relief from the ever trying trip. Finally after debating with herself she reached out and snatched the rum bottle away from the famous captain.

After looking down at the bottle for a moment she placed it to her lips and tilted her head back, letting the liquid run down her throat and calm her nerves. She took a few good swallows and then pulled it away from her lips once more. Rum and her didn't really mix, she knew that much, but what could possibly happen on this small dingy? As long as she didn't fall overboard she was in good hands. She only drank a few sips, it wasn't as though she were drinking the entire bottle. Leave that up to Jack himself.

"Much better." She nodded, holding the bottle back out for Jack to take. She cleared her throat of the remaining liquid and looked up at Jack with a curious eye, her inhibitions already being bruised slightly. "So what does that compass point to when you open it without really thinking?"

---

His strong, greedy hands took back the bottle once Elizabeth had taken a few good sips. The bottle was large, as most rum flasks were. She had taken a good amount, enough to calm her nerves and give her a faint lightheaded feeling, but definitely not enough to get her drunk. Yes, leave that up to Jack, to get drunk. He was way ahead of the married woman as he finished off the bottle, and fished beneath their seat for another one. Biting off the cork and spitting it to his feet, his eyes scanned the horizon. He thought he saw the prickle of something in the distance, but they weren't close enough to tell.

Elizabeth's next questioned wrenched Jack from his thoughts and concentration on the scenery. He froze, remembering where the compass had pointed to when he had opened it carelessly. He seemed to be like stone now, staring out at sea with an odd expression, hesitant to answer. He loudly gulped down his last swig of rum that had been helplessly swimming inside his mouth.

"Rum." He finally answered, lying, looking at her with a smile that he desperately hoped would convince her. "That is, unless I'm already drinking rum."

And then he became silent. What did it point to if he was already drinking rum? He had now turned it into a lose-lose situation for him. If he told the truth, that it _might_ have been pointing to her _instead_ of rum, he would lose. And if he told her that the arrow just spun around aimlessly, she would get the idea that Jack Sparrow didn't know what he wanted most in this world.

---

Elizabeth watched as he reached for another flask of rum and wondered what would happen when all the rum finally ran dry from him drinking it nearly constantly. She wasn't about to voice such ideas since Jack would probably go into shock just thinking of such a tragedy. Instead she watched as he drank from the newly opened flask and looked out onto the horizon of the sea. It really was peaceful out here, she enjoyed the ocean greatly, she just preferred it on a much larger vessel.

When he answered her question she rolled her eyes slightly and then realized he was now drinking rum and maybe now he would get a different answer. "Try again." She shrugged, reaching out and taking the compass from his possession and holding it out in front of him, "You have your beloved rum so now it would point to something different, correct?"

She raised an eyebrow, this was her way of testing Jack Sparrow. Was he really going to do it or just simply shake his head no and admit it was obviously something he didn't want to speak of that it had pointed to earlier.

---

Jack flinched protectively as she reached over to snatch the compass from his belt. His first instinct would probably be swipe out his sword and slash at whatever grabbed it. Luckily, Jack was being smart, staying calm even as Elizabeth held the compass out to him and demanded he try again. With a sigh, he held his rum in one hand, taking a sip from it before looking the woman in the eyes. What was she trying to prove? So what if it pointed somewhere in the general direction of her. It didn't work with Jack sometimes. It simply wasn't true.

Deciding not to back down from this challenge, Jack took the contraption and stared down at it meanly. He tried arguing with the thing in his mind, like a crazy man. Eventually, after holding the rum cleverly out to his side, right where ELizabeth was sitting, he opened it. It flickered from side to side for a moment, pointing ahead of them for a split second, and then zipped instantly to the side. Jack turned his eyes to the side, finding himself looking at the rum he was holding. He grinned.

"See? Rum." He stated, hoping he had someone other than himself fooled that it was really rum he wanted most in this world. Yes, rum, not the girl sitting beside him, behind the bottle of rum.

---

She watched as he looked at it with what looked like a sense of fear and hate for the toy. Yes, toy. That's really what Elizabeth saw it as, what else could be so entertaining to watch a grown man look at with such disgust and love at the same time? He held the rum off to his side, oddly enough right in front of where she was sitting. She thought that was a bit odd, but didn't see much sense in arguing that point at the moment, more important issues to be had now.

Her eyes didn't leave the compass as it started spinning and then landed right in her direction and he grinned as though he had won and that's when it all became a bit clearer. "Rum? Really?" Elizabeth asked, giving a mere voice of shock at the fact that Jack was right. Please, she wasn't buying it. She gave a small smirk and pushed the rum away from her and looked up at Jack with a smirk.

"Where is it pointed now?"

---

Come on. He had already gotten himself pretty convinced that the compass wasn't telling the truth anyway. Surely the thing he wanted most in this world was _not_ Elizabeth Turner. Perhaps finding the Black Pearl or putting the maps he had to good use. Anything but Elizabeth. Jack simply refused to believe that, even when she shoved away his bottle of rum and then arrow continued to point straight to her. He grumbled a bit, trying to will it away from her, trying to focus on his rum, his ship, the Fountain of Youth. Anything. When nothing provoked the arrow to move, Jack simply shut it as quickly as possible before Elizabeth got impatient for his answer and looked over his shoulder.

"It...- Oh, what is that?!" He cried out suddenly, breaking away from Elizabeth and stashing the thing quickly back onto his belt. He scrambled to the head of the dingy and squinted his dark eyes out to sea. The little boat rocked uncertainly against the calm ocean, as if even it was confused and startled by the pirate lord's actions. Yes, Jack Sparrow was only pretending to see something to get himself out of that sticky situation. But then, a little pale dot of color rised in the distance, and Jack smiled. He wasn't quite sure what it was yet, but it was something to distract Elizabeth away from finding him out.

.:--.-.-.-.-.-.-.-...-.-.-.-.-..:.

**Shaida01- Thank you. I'm glad it appealed to somebody!**

**haydenlover19 - Ehhhh! I know, I'm bad about that. I just lost muse for that story. Don't worry though, When I get back to my mom's house I'll be struggling to update for you guys. Trust me.**

**Femmevixen13 - Thanks for reading!**


	4. A Pirate's Deal

Elizabeth watched as the compass continued to point directly at her and part of her wanted to point at Jack like a little child and go 'haha', but something inside of her turned oddly and she'd never admit it, but it was even pleasent. Some sort of butterfly reaction in her stomach and that shouldn't happen. She was married and to an amazing man, just because he was gone for ten years was no reason to look toward other men. Although, deep down Elizabeth knew the reason she was so...interested in Jack was not because of the mere fact that her husband was away but because - well, deep down she always had been.

Of course, that was something she'd never admit to, not even to herself. She was about to say something - or at least she looked like she was, her mouth was half open when Jack jumped up and made small dingy shake slightly on the deep sea and Elizabeth couldn't help but reach out toward one of the edges to hang on in case he should decide to move again and tip the small thing.

At first she figured he was just trying to aviod the topic at hand and she was thankful for that. There was no point in well - discussing something that would never happen. It just wouldn't. End of story. Her eyes looked toward where Jack was pointing and then went wide.

"You think it's the Pearl?" She asked, also standing up in the small vessel, not a very bright idea as it tipped and swayed even more, causing Elizabath to stumble slightly and reach out to the nearest thing for support - Jack's arm.

---

Needless to say, Jack was very glad something actually had popped up on the horizon. He grabbed his little telescope from where it was on his belt and pulled it out, placing it to one eye. He squinted into the contraption, staring out at sea. What color were the sails, what color were the sails? Jack leaned forward a bit more, rocking the dingy even more. He nearly fell completely over when Elizabeth decided to jump up as well. He swayed, trying to find his footing before he toppled off the small boat. It was he felt a warm hand grasp his arm that he became firm, his muscles tightening under the touch. He glanced back over his shoulder, down to her hand. A miniature grin formed on his features as his eyes moved up to clash with hers.

Before returning his eyes back to the boat in the distance, Jack swung his arm around Elizabeth's waist, playing off the impression that he was trying to keep her from falling. His telescope returned back to his eye, the grin still on his face. Sure enough, once a good gust of wind had shoved them towards the vessel on the horizon, Jack saw the color of the sails. Black. Even before then, the captain had known it was his ship. He could never mistake the Pearl.

"That's her." He said, a hidden sort of glee in his voice.

---

Elizabeth was too interested what was head of them to even notice the look on Jack's face as his arm fell to her waist. She was too excited at the mere thought of it actually being the Pearl. She saw that Jack had his telescope out so all she could do now was wait for him to say whether or not the ship had the famous black sails that one would always know as the Black Pearl. She tightened her grip on his shoulder slightly as a way of keeping from tipping the small boat even more. Her mind was completely on other things than their previous conversation.

When he admitted it was the Pearl Elizabeth wanted to jump up and scream for joy, but that would definitely end up with them both in the dark waters below them. So instead she settled for a grin as she looked toward Jack with relief and excitement.

"Alright, so let's start rowing." She said, as she sat back down, only then realizing the feel of Jack's touch once it was gone and a small shiver ran down her spine, one she did her best to ignore.

---

Well that was very strange. It seemed Elizabeth had been to excited in finding the Pearl that she hadn't noticed him settle his arm comfortably around her waist. Though, it was nice to see someone who was nearly as happy to see the famous vessel as he was. Most were filled with fear or dread, their face drenched with a frown as shouted for backup, or turned their ships in the other direction. Jack could tell Elizabeth found the Pearl somewhat as a home to her, or if she didn't, at least she should. She had been aboard countless times, traveling with it's captain and..._Will._

Sparrow glanced down at her after she had sat down. With a last smile at the horizon, he tucked away his telescope and sank down into the dingy again to snatch up an oar. He grumbled something about wishing the wind would be more feirce, and dipped it onto the water. Jack didn't rush or become overly excited. He simply rowed the pitiful dingy towards his much large, much better vessel that was, unfortunately, being captained by the living dead. Alright, so he was actually _alive_ again..but he wouldn't be as soon as Jack Sparrow was aboard again.

---

Elizabeth grabbed the other oar that sat on the wooden floor below them and started paddling. She kept her eye out for the familiar ship that was head of them as she felt her arms grow slightly strained at the rate she was rowing, but that didn't matter. Soon they'd be on a much larger and better vessel than what they were on now and that was way worth the tired arms she was going to have. She took in a small breath and thought of all the possible outcomes of what would happen when they got on ship. Barbossa was going to be anything but happy to see Jack back on his ship - or Jack's ship. However that worked these days.

She looked over toward Jack for a moment who looked rather peaceful and in no real hurry about getting to the ship. Jack never really seemed to be in a hurry for anything. She somewhat wished she could have that sense of peace - but she highly doubted he was considered peace. Hangover or lack of interest maybe, but peace was highly doubtful.

"Where are we going once we are on the ship?" She asked, figuring he'd take over - or at least try to - once they were on the Pearl.

---

At Elizabeth's sense of urgency, Jack seemed to slow down his pace of rowing, just to tease her. Although, after awhile he picked up speed, finding he was rather eager to get aboard his precious ship once more. It had been a good while since Barbossa had stolen her again. Believe him when Jack said he had rowed these seas a couple times in search of the Pearl, but only ended back up at Tortuga, defeated, and in need of rum and a good wench. Though he didn't see to show it, the pirate was indeed very glad to see he had finally come upon her. Boy was Barbossa going to get a mouthful.

"Well," Jack began to reply as he rowed. "We're going to take back my ship, and then we are heading back to Tortuga to round up the crew. Then, love, we're going to the Foutain of Youth." He didn't explain any further, as they were coming up on the ship now and needed to do so silently.

It wasn't too long, considering that the wind was on their side today, that they came quietly upon the large black sailed vessel. Jack reached out to grab the rope than hung down from the ship, a smile stained on his lips. He wasn't thinking about how hard it may be for them to win back the Black Pearl. Jack never thought about the future until he was right up on it. He turned back to Elizabeth, raising one finger to his lips to signal for her to keep quiet, and then he offered his hand to her. They were going to have to be sneaky.

---

Fountain of Youth, that actually existed? Elizabeth had heard stories of the place and even heard Jack speak of it a time or two, but she just figured he was making something up. Apparently he wasn't - or at least he didn't think so. When she saw him slow down on his rowing she gave a mock glare and then smiled slightly before pulling her attention away from the captain and focused on the ship once more.

Before she knew it they were near the large vessel - compared to their's - and Jack was standing up to grab the rope. She stood up as well, setting the oar down on the floor of the dingy again. She did her best to keep her balance as she waited to see what Jack was going to do next. When he held his hand out she took it rather quickly, something inside her was growing to trust Jack more and more and that was a bit strange for her - but she'd be lying if she said she didn't like it.

"How do you plan on getting up there?" She asked in a soft whisper, standing close to him so as not to be heard by anyone that may be near by.

---

"Watch." Jack whispered to her as he tugged on the rope, making sure it was sturdy. He had noticed how quickly she had taken his hand, and he instantly pulled her to him. "Hold on to me and keep quiet." He told her as he raised one foot onto the side of the vessel, trying his best to do this in a snappy fashion before someone noticed them. After he was sure Elizabeth holding tight, he lifted the two of them up the side of the Pearl. He used every muscle in his strong arms as he pulled them both up very quietly.

Sparrow stifled a few groans of pain and struggle as he held them suspending against the boat. He silently peeked over the break in the railing where you could board the Pearl. His eyes darted from side to side to see who was up on deck. Luckily, Barbossa wasn't at the wheel, and there were very few crew members anyway. This might be easy, but it was very doubtful.

---

Elizabeth felt his whisper go through her spine and she just hoped he hadn't noticed her shiver slightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung closely to him to make it as easy as possible for him to bring them up the side of the large ship. She was amazed at the strength and almost grace he showed in pulling them both up the side of the vessel without a sound.

Her eyes locked on him for a moment as if she were in a trance, but she quickly looked away and glanced around the deck to see if anyone was up there. She didn't see the 'captain' himself, but she did see a few crew members. She figured since they were high enough as it was, she'd pull herself up onto the ship itself, she could at least do that much.

She took one arm from around Jack's neck and grabbed the side of the ship's railing before pushing herself up onto the deck completely, taking a quick glance around. None of the small crew seemed to take notice of the new arrival so she looked back at Jack and offered her hand with a smirk, "I'm not as helpless as when you first met me, Mr. Sparrow. A lot has changed."

--

"We need to be heading south, no - Southeast." A man with a shaggy beard looked over a couple maps, of course, not the one he actually needed. That was being help by a certain man that he had left behind at Tortuga - no this was just a map that he hoped would lead them in the right direction. As of right now, Barbossa was standing in his captain's quarters just trying to past the time as they sailed - hoping his new crew wouldn't get restless if they realized he wasn't exactly sure where they were to head to next.

---

Jack watched, still clinging to the side of his own stolen ship, as Elizabeth mounted the thing as discreetly as possible. His eyes narrowed at her, but a smile was forming underneath his dark mustache. "So it has." He murmured, softly chuckling at the fact that he could almost see clear up her dress a few times. Yes, a lot _had_ changed. Elizabeth was now married to William, who was...dead...sort of. She was no longer a virgin, and had become quite a pirate to boot. Jack would admit that this new and improved Elizabeth _Turner_ was a lot more attractive, at least to filthy pirates like him.

He took her hand, though he didn't really need to as he pulled himself easily up the side of the Pearl. Taking a glance around with his dark brown eyes, he seemed catious, like he was expecting to get caught. Seeing it was safe, he straightened up a bit, his smile revealing his few golden teeth among his pearly white ones. It was just good to be back on his precious vessel, even if it was infested with someone else's crew and their "captain". Hopefully nothing had been changed since he had been the comandor of it. It there was even one tiny thing that was different, Sparrow was sure to shoot the head off of something.

"Prepare any weapons, be on your toes, love. Barbossa and his scraggely beard might put up a fight." He whispered to Elizabeth.

In a quite jolly manner, Jack Sparrow sauntered over to the wheel of his ship. He touched it rather affectionately, his fingers running over the polished wood like he was caressing a woman's flesh. He seemed like something inside him had just been accomplished, simply by being there with the Pearl. Suddenly, he took the wheel firmly in his grib and spun it to the side, causing the entire ship to jolt and swing to one side. Maybe _that_ would get some attention..

---

Elizabeth watched his expression as he climbed onto the ship after her. She didn't have too much time to focus on him now - not that she wanted to. Instead she turned her attention back toward the tiny crew that hadn't even noticed their arrival. In fact, Elizabeth wasn't even sure she had seen any of them as of yet. They must all be below deck relaxing. I mean, it wasn't like the weather was bad enough or windy enough for them to all be on deck and manning their stations. It was actually pretty calm, which meant they probably all were taking a small break before the weather got bad.

Her attention went back toward Jack when he whispered in her ear and yet another shiver ran down her spine, but she just nodded and looked around the deck - spotting a unoccupied sword. She had a dagger strapped to her thigh underneath the dress she wore, but she wasn't going to pull that out until she absolutely had to. That sort of placement of a sharp object was only needed for real emergencies - or close contact with an enemy. She walked over, tiptoeing really, toward the sword and grabbed it, following Jack to the wheel of the ship. She wrapped the sword's holder around her waist as though it were her own, having to adjust the size since whoever had it before her was obviously bigger.

Elizabeth stood next to Jack as he touched the wheel of his proud vessel and then without a warning he turned it, sending the ship and everything - and everyone. Elizabeth with stumbling into Jack as she did her best to keep her balance a bit, she gave an annoyed glance toward the man she now had her arms wrapped around to keep from falling flat on her face, "A little warning would have been great."

She pushed herself back into a standing position as she adjusted herself, making sure she was revealed in any improper places.

--

As he stared down at his maps, focusing quite hard on their location was when he fell over without warning. It had happened so quickly he didn't even have time to react as he found himself on the floor of the captain's suite. He grumbled slightly and then slowly found his footing again, once the ship had stopped it's sharp turn it was in the middle of. He grabbed the nearby counter top where his beloved drink of choice sat with nice glasses, something he had added to the Pearl once it was under his command again.

Someone had turned the ship. Bloody hell. Barbossa thought everyone was below deck getting some rest, no sense having a manned crew in such weather, but obviously someone decided to take things into their own hands. He grabbed his hat and sword before storming out the door and ending up on board, staring right at the wheel of the ship.

"What in the hell are we-" His words fell short when he saw two very familiar people standing at the wheel, one he didn't mind seeing. She was actually turning out to be quite the pirate, but the other he could go the rest of his days without seeing and he'd be happy, "Jack Sparrow? What are you doin' on my ship? Thought I left your drunken arse back in Tortuga."

---

Just as he had expected, Elizabeth was soon toppled over and clinging to him for support. He stood tall and proud, his footing firm on the ship. He hadn't even stumbled an inch, a smile resting on his lips as he looked triumphitly at the woman. He smirked, pulling the ship back into line before the ship became too unbalanced. Going by the shouts of surprise and irritation that arose from the underdeck, Jack could see that he had gotten his deserved attention. After all, he was pretty sure no one had expected the _real_ owner of the Pearl to come paddling after them in a mere dingy and somehow end up on deck again.

Sparrow broke out in a mock smile as Barbossa appeared in the doorway of _Jack's_ office. He patted the wheel of the ship and stepped away from it, his steps swaying across the deck. He had never been one who could walk straight lines. Blame it on the rum.

"Correction. I was not drunken..._Yet._ And I do believe that this is _my_ ship." He replied, tossing his eyes up and down the pirate's body rather lazily. He was looking as vicious and...downright filthy as ever. Of course Jack would have no problem telling him this later. "So, _Hector._" He started again, mocking his name. "How've you been? Taking care of me ship, I hope."

Jack stopped, eyes flitting around the deck with that same confident smile. It was like there was not one care in the world. As if he would really be able to tell Barbossa to split, and he actually would. From this angle, just on deck, things seemed fine. No extra addisions to his ship. No hidden crew members about to pop out and slice their throats. Even then, he still peeked back over his shoulder to give Elizabeth a 'keep your eyes open' look.

--

Meanwhile, below deck, Ragetti had just been given a rather rude awakening to his nap. With a groan, he raised his boney form up off the ground, blinked, and then groaned louder. Back down to his knees on the floor, he dropped, patting the floorboards in search of his wooden eye that had unfortunately popped out in the fall. He scrambled away, tossing up boxes and other things that had shifted from the sudden sharp turn they had been given. At first thought, he wondered if they had almost run into something. Perhaps they had been attacked by another ship, or were coming up on one. If so, why hadn't Barbossa called for any of the crew?

Once he had fished his eye out of a coil of old rope, Ragetti blew on it and shoved it back into the empty socket. He stood, brushing himself off and looking around in the darkness, blinking rapidly.

"P-Pintel? What happened?" He called out to his buddy.

---

Elizabeth watched as Barbossa walked onto the deck and called Jack out for barging in on 'his' ship. She couldn't help but grin slightly at how Jack put Barbossa in his place. Of course, Elizabeth herself had no real problems with the captain. He had married her and Will after all. Will. Her mind had been completely blank of the man until that very moment. It was on this ship they had been wed, during the pouring rain. She had never felt such a feeling in her heart, but even then she knew something was missing and she couldn't put her finger on it. He was protective, caring, and loving. What more would a woman want? Passion. There was no passion in the things they did together - ever.

She frowned slightly and decide it be best to just push it out of her mind and focus on what was in front of her - and not just Jack. She watched as Barbossa stood his ground and the captain of the Pearl walked toward him with sense of ease and calmness, something most people wouldn't be able to even try to do when coming face to face with that man.

--

Barbossa himself just had a smirk on his face as Jack staggered toward him with his typical stride, "I'm doing quite well. My ship is - well, was - heading in the right direction for my next destination, of course, you changed all that with that wicked turn of the wheel."

His eyes went toward Elizabeth, who Jack had just eyed as well. The situation seemed a bit strange, the two of them going along together, but it really was none of his business. Although he did lean in a gave warning look toward Jack, "Don't be messin' with that girl, Jack. She's better than men like us."

So he was a bit protective of the girl, she seemed kind at heart, not to mention he had been the one to marry her to her current husband. A man worthy of Elizabeth. He cleared his throat and gave a small smile toward Elizabeth, who didn't return it, just kept her eye on the look out around the ship. His old eyes looked back at Jack with a soft glare, "Now get off my ship, Jack Sparrow."

--

He had been sleeping quite soundly, the rum definitely helping his needed nap as he leaned up against one of the many wooden crates holding the beloved liquid. When the ship turn a sudden turn was when another crate came rolling toward him, except it was much smaller and only did enough damage to wake the larger, but shorter man up from his slumber. His vision was a bit blurred when he started to stand up, trying to figure out what was going on up on the deck to make the ship turn so sharply. An attack? Not likely, Barbossa would have said something by now.

He was about to start up toward the deck when he heard his trusty friend call his name, "Ragetti? I - I don't know, lets go up there and take a look."

He smiled, meeting his friend near the door and slapping him on the back before his started up the steps.

---

Jack was quite known for having spits and spats with Hector Barbossa for awhile now. Ever since they had met, really. There wasn't one day in his life that Jack could remember ever being on good terms with the fellow pirate. He did indeed enjoy messing with the man's head in any way he could, although it was clear he liked doing the same thing. Though Jack was very rarely able to have his mind messed with, when it was, it was not enjoyable in the least.

Once Barbossa had mentioned that he had been on the right track to his destination, Sparrow chuckled confidently. He knew where that destination was, since the pirate himself had stolen the maps to said destination. Yes, The Fountain of Youth. Finally, when he had stopped laughing, he pretended to realize that Barbossa wasn't kidding. He looked over his shoulder, out to sea, in the direction they had been heading in before he turned the wheel. His eyes became mockingly wide.

"Oh, you were serious? Well, er, sorry to tell you so, mate, but you were going in the complete wrong direction." He said teasingly. He stopped, grinned and placed his hands on his hips. "I should know."

Well, honestly, Jack had no idea where the right direction was. Not yet, at least. His first quest was to find the very ship he was now standing on. Now he could open the compass and try to find out where the hell the fountain was. Later, after he had kicked Barbossa off his ship again, which, he was just about to do when he leaned close and spoke to him once more. Jack cringed. As if he would even listen to the pirate and actually stop messing with Elizabeth.

"You should tell _her_ that." He whispered back to him, keeping his voice low from Elizabeth's ears. Jack was, of course, making it seem as though she was entirely head over heels for him.

Straightening up, the pirate narrowed his eyes at the theif. His teeth grit irritably behind his lips. He growled softly, cocking his head. "Now that's not very nice, kicking me off _my own_ ship." He replied, mentioned the 'my own ship' rather loudly.

--

Ragetti smiled with that rotten toothed, dorky smile and laughed heartedly as his friend slapped him on the back. The rest of the crew had scrambled aboard deck, rubbing their sore backsides. Once the two had raised up to the deck, the boney crewmember squeezed shut his one real eye against the bright sun. He glanced around for a moment, trying to find out what was going on, when he stopped Elizabeth. He smiled again, raising a hand to wave at the woman kindly.

It was then that he noticed the tension on board. His eyes flickered over to his captain who was face to face with the actual owner of the ship. Ragetti stiffened. "Uh oh." He muttered, knowing well of the friction between the two pirates and captains. This didn't look too good.

---

Elizabeth watched as the two captains spoke, leaning into one another as if to share some sort of secret with one another. She was curious as to what they were talking about, but decided she'd just ask Jack later. He'd probably tell her - or maybe not. Her eyes scanned the crew that was coming up on deck and noticed two old friends. She grinned toward Ragetti and Pintel as they waved in her direction. Those two didn't have much of a brain, even together, but they were still probably the two nicest pirates she had ever met.

Her attention went around to the other crew members, looking slightly sore from their rude awakening. She didn't think any of them looked harmful, in fact it looked as though Barbossa had just grabbed the closest men to the Pearl and threw them into the position of crew. She noticed one was looking around for his sword and that's when she realized she had taken his. Oh well - a pirate should never leave his sword laying around. She bet even Ragetti and Pintel knew that rule.

--

Barbossa looked back toward Elizabeth has Jack spoke his words - she never leave him alone? What, did Jack honestly think he was born yesterday? Didn't matter, whatever Jack was up to was his business as long as he did it elsewhere and Barbossa was about to make sure he did do it elsewhere until the captain mentioned he knew in exactly the direction he was supposed to be going.

"I knew you were the one to take the map," He spoke under his breath to make sure his crew didn't hear that he hadn't really had a map the whole time. He stuck out his hand with a sense of superiority, "Now, hand it over so we can be on our way. You can take that dingy back to Tortuga - Elizabeth is welcome to stay with us until her _husband_ returns in ten years."

Hector really didn't think Jack was going to hand over the map, but his sense of pride just refused to make himself beg. That was not what the legendary Barbossa did. Beg? Absolutely not. Especially not to Jack Sparrow.

--

Pintel stood next to his friend and looked around deck, trying to see if they had been attacked. That's when his vision when toward the wheel where Elizabeth was standing and he waved frantically. She always was a nice lady - and definitely something to look at among all these men. When he looked toward Ragetti he was going to suggest going to say hello the young lass, but the look on his friend's gave him a different idea. His vision went toward the two captains standing on deck looking anything but friendly toward each other.

"It's Jack!" Pintel say excitedly to see his true captain aboard the Pearl. He turned to Ragetti, "Should we go say hello? I'm sure he'll be glad to see us...more than he would Barbossa."

---

His eyes flickered down to Barbossa's open hand, and Jack grimaced. Why did he always have to make things so hard? In all his thirteen-odd years of pirate-hood, and ever since Barbossa had been his first mate so long ago, he had been this difficult. Then again, so had Jack Sparrow. It was clear that neither of them were going to back down, as Jack simply stared at the man's open hand. The maps were hidden somewhere on him, with him at all times. Where, he wasn't going to tell. If Jack couldn't have the Pearl, then Hector couldn't have the maps.

"You were the one to so stupidly leave it out for me to take." He retorted with a grin. They both stole something of one another. They both owed something to one another, yet neither would admit so. They were like two brothers, really. Children.

"Alright, Hector." He started up again, obviously mocking his name again. "How about, I give you the maps, you give me the Pearl?" He tried to bargain. It was a good bargain on his part, because he already had the compass and it would help them get to the destination just as well as senselessly confusing maps would. "Besides...I didn't tie that dingy to anything, so it's likely floating out to sea by now. So unfortunately for you, you're stuck with me."

Jack didn't turn back to look until he realized something and a frown passed over his face. He had left his rum in the dingy. He turned back to see the little thing bobbing on the gentle ocean waves, a good ways from the Pearl. He turned back to Barbossa, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You better not have drinken on my rum."

--

"No, no..wait." Ragetti warned his friend, holding him back with a hand. If there was one good thing Ragetti was good at, it was being slightly smart without even realizing it. He could take a look at a situation, and just be able to blurt out a pretty accurate guess of what had happened. In fact, that's what he was just about to do now.

"Mm. I think...Jack...has come back to retreive the Pearl, since Barbossa stole it back at Tortuga. Barbossa doesn't wanna give it up, and is probably currently teasing Jack about something to do with Elizabeth. See, they keep looking at her. Well, Jack isn't going to back down so I think they're gonna come up with a trade or something. Barbossa should probably just accept and get it over with because I don't think Cap'n Jack is going to be on his merry way any time soon. Look, his dingy is out at sea." When he finished, he smiled confidently with his yellow toothed smile.

---

Pintel watched as his friend explained the situation in front of them. He nodded, seeing everything that was going on. Poor guy, he really wasn't the shiniest sword out there, but he sure did try. Good thing he had his friend around, he'd be in a lot of trouble without him. He smiled over at his friend with his rotten teeth and nodded, "I bet you're right. Jack is going to take back his ship and apparently Elizabeth is here to help him. Good thing, I really did like her. Always knew she had o'bit of pirate in her."

His eyes went toward the dingy floating out to see and gave a sad sort of look. He was a good man at heart, it not a softy to the extreme. "Too bad, looked like a good ole dingy. Could have been ours, you know? For when we come to shore or something. Better any of these around us."

--

The gruff old man stood there with a look of slight malice. No, not a glare. Hector Barbossa did not glare. Especially to someone he saw as lower than him. He reached up and stratched his chin through the thinning beard, still keeping his other hand held out, not really expecting Jack to hand them over without some sort of bargain. He was a pirate after all and even Barbossa would admit Jack was a good pirate at heart. An awful person - but that was how one became such a good pirate.

"Left it sitting out?" Barbossa shook his head, "I didn't realize my sleeping chambers were considered 'sitting out', but now that I know, I'll take that into consideration."

Ah yes, there it was. The bargain, Hector knew Jack had it in him. Of course he did. There was no denying that fact. It actually wasn't all that bad of a bargain. Sure, he would technically be handing the ship over to the man in front of him - but he was staying on board. Not to mention, he'd have the maps in his hands. This time he would definitely be keeping a better eye on them. He narrowed his eyes slightly, a sign that he was thinking over the whole issue.

At this point Elizabeth decided to move from her post by the wheel and walked up behind Jack, glancing toward Barbossa for a second before leaning in toward Jack to whisper as an easier way of not being heard, "You think that's a good idea?"

Hector watched the exchange and then cleared his throat, getting Elizabeth's attention, "Jack Sparrow - you have yourself a deal."

**..:-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--..--.-.-..-.-:..**

**Shaida01- Thank you, we do try to make it seem that way **


	5. A Meeting With Barbossa

**Chapter 4**

**A Meeting With Barbossa**

By the look on the old pirate's face, Barbossa was probably thinking Jack hadn't been thinking as he proposed that idea. Perhaps he was thinking this bargain would benefit him more. On the other hand, Jack Sparrow's smug grin said otherwise. With every bargain he made, there was a catch, a secret catch. While dealing with him, the other person never got what they fully expected. Barbossa was exactly correct- He was an awful man and a good pirate.

A hand swept downward as Elizabeth made her way next to him. He placed his warm, rough palm against her back, putting pressure on the flesh beneath her dress as he rubbed his hand downward to rest on her lower back. He let his teeth shine in his smile as he tilted his head towards her to hear her whisper. "Don't worry, love." He assured her.

Honestly, did anyone really expect that Jack would for one moment put aside his greediness? Yes, he would receive his vessel back, but Barbossa would be in for something as well. Payback, it might be called, for stealing his ship in the first place. Or perhaps he was just a plain greedy man, dreading to share with this gruff old man that once was a friend of his. Jack never shared, unless it was rum with a pretty girl.

"Goody." He said, rushing out his one free hand to snatch Hector's in a firm handshake. The pirate's cruel mind wandered. Barbossa had been brought back from the dead once, but he doubted it would happen again, or at least hoped not. The both of them seemed to be men you just couldn't keep dead.

---

Elizabeth hadn't expected the hand to come upon her as she made her way toward Jack, in fact, she was quite surprised when he had touched her period. Her expression didn't hide her surprise either, her brown eyes went wide as she stared at him for a second longer than needed. She was going to tell him not to touch her, but she just remained silent. She told herself she did so because she did not want to cause any more problems for Jack at the moment, but deep down she believed it was because she somewhat liked the tingling feeling she got from the mere contact of his hand on such a sensative area.

After she had said her words she looked at him for some sort of reaction and when he just reassured her she couldn't help but smirk slightly. She wasn't sure if he ever actually had a plan or if Lady Lucky real did treasure him somehow, because no matter what the situation was he usually came out on top. That was why Elizabeth somewhat liked being on his side of things, made for an easier outcome.

Hector raised a slight eyebrow at the two, for being married and not to fond of him Elizabeth was certainly worried about the outcome for Jack Sparrow. Of course that was none of his business and she was her own woman after all, life happened and he was no one to dictate what was right and wrong, the seas knew he'd done his fair share of "wrong" things in the past.

He couldn't help but smile slightly at the idea of having tha maps, but when Jack only just shook his hand he was a bit outraged. Instead of saying anything right away he just shook the man's hand and pulle d away again, acting as though the maps in his possession were of no concern of his at this very moment.

"Excellent, we shall meet over dinner in the living chambers to discuss the maps and a course of action." It wasn't a question but an order and it was his last as he started walking away from the two standing in the middle of the ship. To do what? Well, that he wasn't quite sure of yet.

Elizabeth watched as the man walked away and then she turned toward Jack, still keeping her voice to where only he could hear it, "Please tell me you have a plan."

---

Jack could feel the married woman's body become tense with surprise as he touched her lower back. He wasn't phased by her shocked expression. He knew she wouldn't remove his hand. Slowly, within then ten years that Will would be away, Elizabeth Turner would surely warm up to Jack. He would make sure of it. Even though, he wasn't quite sure how many years were left before the _Dutchman's_ new captain would arrive back in the mortal world. This would be the first time he had taken that said trip back to this world, and it wouldn't be the last. Unfortunately for some, William was a good man, and seemed intent on doing his job ferrying souls to the next world.

Watching Barbossa walk away after leaving Jack a last command, the pirate planted on a blank smile. He thought endlessly for a way to rid himself of the scraggly bearded man. He had done so once, with the single shot of his pistol, but thanks to Tia Dalma, he was back again. One would think they would settle their fued in this time being back together in a crew, but it hadn't been settled at all. The two still, in fact, wanted to kill each other.

Under Elizabeth's whispered question, Jack Sparrow raised his brows. "Not at all. But he's not going to be on me ship much longer." He replied, spinning suddenly away from her, expecting her to follow. Carelessly, he sauntered back over to the wheel of his old ship and gripped it affectionately. He rubbed the rough, burnt-looking wood as he focused his dark eyes out to sea. Being captain again, he didn't bother to ask for permission, nor warn a single soul before he turned the wheel of the vessel in a direction he was quite familiar with by now. He did not have a plan of how he was going to get Barbossa out of his hair, or how he was going to keep the maps or get to the Foutain of Youth without them, but he did have a plan of where exactly to go next.

---

Barbossa entered the darkened room and took a seat in one of the chairs, removing his hat for a moment and rubbing his thinned hair. He knew Jack was up to something - when was that man not up to something? It was just a matter of figuring it out before his plan went into action. Speak to Elizabeth? After all he had married her and Will together - even if she seemed to be forgetting that fact from time to time recently. No, she was a good girl and she was probably just handling Jack's motions for the mere fact of finding a way to go to Fountain of Youth so she could spend eternity with Will himself. She was a smart girl after all.

He leaned back in the chair and placed his feet on the table in front of him, looking out the nearby window to see the deck of his - well, now Jack's ship. That thought left a sour taste in his mouth as he sat there glaring toward the wheel Jack was now standing at. He was really swallowing his pride to let him do such a thing and have nothing in return.

The only plan of his at the moment was to speak to Elizabeth, but something told him she wouldn't be telling a soul what was up - even if she did know.

--

She should have known. Jack Sparrow didn't have a plan. When does he? Ever? She shook her head slightly as she watched him walk away from her and head back toward the wheel of the ship. At first she just stood there, unsure of where to place herself next. She crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the crew members with a fake calm smile. No, they didn't make her nervous - Jack not having a solid plan made her very nervous.

Finally after a few moments of standing there she gave in and went after him, losing her balance slightly, making her grab onto the nearby railing for support as she walked up the steps, when Jack suddenly made the ship turn once more.

"God, do you get a kick out of doing that or something?" Her voice was full of annoyance as she walked up to stand next to him and the wheel, then her eyes flickered toward his. He wouldn't just stray the Pearl off course for no reason, he must have something in mind.

"Jack? Where are we going?" She asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

---

Jack had occupied himself with squinting out to sea, trying to make sure they were on the right track to his destination. Indeed, they were, and the captain was rather confident once again, steering the vessel in the direction of the shore they had just parted from. The sea was still calm, thankfully, putting up with the argue over sea captains and their ships and maps. Calypso must be relaxed at the moment, or feeling merciful at the least.

When Elizabeth stumbled on her way towards him again, he watched with a sparkling in his dark eyes. He grinned slightly, having a sudden change of heart and deciding not to swing the ship into another sharp turn and send Elizabeth crashing into him again. "No, love. I just get a kick out of having you cling to me for balance. Makes a man feel strong." He teased, grinning at her with that confident and oh so charming smile. He charmed girls into bed with that smile of his, with that dirty pirate talk.

Turning his eyes back to sea, he let his mind wandered, inbetween Elizabeth's questions, quickly to Barbossa and the proposal he had made. A meeting? Well Jack surely wasn't going to be looking forward to that, unless there was rum involved. Hector, knowing his arch enemy- whom was somewhat like a little brother, would know he would come if there was rum. Indeed, there would be, so Jack was sure to be there. That could be either a good or bad thing on his part. Dinner was arriving upon them rather quickly.

"Tortuga." Jack Sparrow proudly stated the name of the pirate port. He had stopped there countless times, and had even picked up Elizabeth there just this morning. Yes, they had just left the drunken place, and they were already going back. "To fetch a crew." He explained. "Can't have a ship without a crew, and I do hardly consider most these scalywags on deck to be as such."

---

Elizabeth's eyes went wide at the mention of where they were heading now, she was about to argue saying something along the lines of she had had enough of the drunken surroundings, but then he mentioned getting a crew. Looking around she noticed that the only true members of Jack's crew was Pintel and Ragetti, both good members, but not enough to carry a large ship such as the Pearl across the open sea.

She leaned against a nearby railing, watched as Jack gracefully lead them ship back in the direction they had once been leaving. It was slightly a waste of time to back petal, most pirates would have thought it wasn't worth it, but with Jack - everything seemed to be worth it. Of course, Elizabeth couldn't help but pulling out some sort of comment about his love for the awful place.

"'Course, I personally think you're going back for one last round with a wench." She smirked, just trying to edge him as he had her earlier, "Since that will be the last for awhile."

She eyed him a moment longer and then let her eyes travel toward the open sea, it was amazing how calm it was out there. One could see for miles, something that was rare with Calypso back in swing.

--

Hector felt the ship turn and wanted to head back out and see where they were going, but with the rate his compass moved on the table near him he knew exactly where they were going - the question was why? Did they not have everything they needed? That was a silly question. Jack probably wasn't even looking for anything serious, just rum and women most likely.

"Pathetic fool - how he wakes up with all his limbs in the morning is beyond me." He mumbled, deciding it best to just stay in here for the mean time until something serious called for his attention.

---

Jack patted his pockets with one hand that he had removed from the wheel. It seemed like he was looking intently for something, though he soon stopped the patting to return the hand to steer his ship strictly towards Tortuga. Whatever he had been looking for, it wasn't too much of a concern. Right now, he was just intent on gaining back his friends and crew, and then getting to the Fountain of Youth. Whether that included gruff old Barbossa on his vessel the whole, or most, of the while, he wasn't quite sure yet.

The captain couldn't help but emit a small laugh to humor Elizabeth in her comeback. She really was a snappy one when she wanted to be, bickering with him every chance she could. It was something that possibly attracted him to the lass, perhaps beyond her stunningly innocent and downright pretty looks. It was no secret that Jack Sparrow _wanted_ Elizabeth. In his bed, that was. She was forbidden from him, which gave him the excitement to keep pushing on through her rejections and everyone's warnings that he should just back off or give it up. Jack was one of the most hard-headed there was out there.

"Is that so?" He replied softly, smiling at the thought she seemed so confident he wouldn't bed a woman for a good while. "Remember, dearie, Captain Jack Sparrow has his ways." No lie, he was a tricky one indeed. Elizabeth of all people should know that by now. "Keep an eye on the wheel, will you? It's time to pay Mr. scraggly beard a visit."

With that, Sparrow had abandoned the wheel of his ship, leaving Elizabeth in it's care. It was funny how he seemed to trust her so. Unlike most pirates these days, and most women her age these days, she was a trustworthy one. William must have rubbed off on her in that way, or else she was simply raised well.

---

_"Remember, dearie, Captain Jack Sparrow has his ways."_

Elizabeth got his meaning behind his last phrase easily, but decided to play slightly desense she picked herself up off the railing and walked back toward Jack with a smirk, "You're welcome to bring a wench on board if the thought terrifies you that much."

With that she walked away toward the back of the boat - ship, and looked over the edge with a sense of peace. They were heading back to Tortuga, God knew how long they'd spend there. Jack says they were to stop for a crew, but knowing him they'd probably spend the night. Although, he might have learned his lesson the last time he spent the night at Tortuga - he woke up without a ship. Something told Elizabeth she highly doubted it.

Her elbows rested on the wooden rails as she watched the water below the ship. It was moments like these she enjoyed sailing the seas almost more than she enjoyed anything else in this entire world. It wasn't until Jack told Elizabeth to keep an eye on the wheel that she was drawn from her thoughts as she left the side of the ship and walked toward the wooden wheel.

"Have fun." She said with slight amusement as she watched Jack head toward the office he once called his own

--

"Ah, Mr. Sparrow, I see you're right on time." Barbossa gave a mocking smile toward the man as he sat at the table with his boots on the fine wooden square. He pointed toward a chair across from him openly, as if they had been old friends, "Please take a seat. Let us discuss further plans on heading toward the Fountain, shall we?"

---

As he walked away, Elizabeth's last retort caught his ears. He stopped for a moment, lips parting to speak, but then he fell silent. He _was _going to mention something like 'Oh, but there already is a wench on board.' You know, something mean of those sorts. Instead, he just sighed, held it in, and entered the doors of the Captain's Quarters. It was curious, since Jack was never one to hold back a mean insult, whether it was accurate or not. He usually just blurted out whatever came to mind, no matter what it was. But, as much as he could pull it off that she was, her no longer being a virgin and all, He knew Elizabeth Turner was no wench. There were a million things Jack Sparrow could say to her to make her feel insulted, confused, and hurt. But, instead he kept quiet, brushing off her comments like they were flakes of snow. He'd have a nice little talk with her later, after he was done with Barbossa.

Something inside Jack flared up at the sight of the thinning bearded man, content and relaxed in _his_ office, his feet up on the table. The true captain grumbled softly, but eventually walked over to the seat Barbossa had indicated. Of course, the ego he had swelling inside him, wouldn't let him obey the former captain. He stood, examining the table for a good while with rum-greedy eyes. Calmly, he collected his little glass of the stuff, and downed it savoringly before he finally took a seat across from the gruff old man.

"Oh, yes, of course. Did I not tell you? We're already on the way toward Tortuga." He told Hector in a laid back, careless fashion as he inspected the wine glass in his hand. He set it down and looked back up at Barbossa with a mocking smile. "But after I accquire back my crew, then _I'll _be on my way to the Fountain."

And then an idea struck the captain. He fell silent, thinking. What if he were to leave Barbossa at Tortuga? It couldn't be too terribly hard, as the man would probably assume Jack wasn't going to leave him alone on his ship again, for fear it would not be there when he returned. However, Sparrow would find a way, or try to at least.

---

"Tortuga?" Barbossa asked, not in the least bit surprised at the man's words. He figured as such, when he had left the harbor of Tortuga he hadn't exactly rounded up Jack's orginial crew. He pretty much just grabbed men that were around, it just so happened that Pintel and Regatti were on board. Good for them. He always considered them slightly useless apart, so having them together was a gift, at least it kept them out of his hair. Sure, they were good pirates, dumb as a box of rocks, but good pirates nonetheless. One did not have to have brains to be a good pirate, just smarts.

Hector removed his feet from the table and leaned forward, listening to Jack as he spoke of him going back on the search for the Fountain. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at how power hungry the man was, that was probably how he got himself into so much trouble, trying to always remain on top, something that wasn't always easy to do in these times. Of course, somehow, and even Barbossa had to admit is, Jack always did seem to come out on top. Lady Luck truly was onthe man's side when it came to such things.

"To retrieve your crew." He repeated, leaning back in the chair, "And what if they refuse to go with you, Jack? I mean, how many times have you let them down in the past? I'm sure they've had their gut full by know, don't you think?"

Elizabeth eyed the office for a moment, unable to really see anything once Jack had entered and shut the door, but she was still curious as to what sort of conversation was being had. She knew Jack could probably outsmart Barbossa, but it would have to be in an unGodly manner since Barbossa was used to most of the man's tricks. She just hoped Jack still had a bit of luck left for him.

She honestly wasn't sure why he wanted to rid himself of Barbossa, sure, the man had tried to kill him a few times, but so had she - he was banning her from the ship. The man had handed over the Pearl to him without any real fight, but that just wasn't good enough for Jack. Then again, with him it usually had to be all or nothing and he rarely, if never, settled for nothing.

---

Jack smiled at each of Barbossa's words, simply because they brought him amusement. If he was trying to bring Jack down in the dumps, it wasn't working. He was one of those pirates that was intent on being...content. He was one of those pirates who fought to get what he wanted, no matter who he was hurting. He was the kind that took whatever bad he got and turned it into something workable, just to piss off the person who gave him the bad. There are often times he is unhappy, like when he returned to the port with the two saucy wenches who wished to see his ship, only to realize that it had been stolen. _Then_ he was a little irritated, and it showed, and that resulted in two slaps across his pirate face. Right now was one of those times that nothing could damper his cocky mood.

Yes, Lady Luck was on his side a rather lot. Probably because he'd slept with her too, along with Tia Dalma, Anamaria, Sao Fang's asian servents, and just about any other attractive woman on this side of the earth. And as such luck would have it, maybe he'd find his whole crew and board his ship- without Barbossa. There was no need to have him aboard anyway. He was just a waste of room and air they were breathing. Besides, he'd probably only try to have Jack killed again, which wouldn't be very pleasant at all.

"Oh, don't you worry about that Hector. I'll get my crew. As many times as I may have...let them down...as you say, they know I'll succeed in the end." Sparrow retorted mockingly. No one could touch Jack right now, or wipe away his giddy smile. He could tell he was about to make Barbossa very irritated with it. Almost subconsiously, he peered around the room to make sure there was no undead monkey about to jump at him. He really did despise that thing at times.

"And.." He started up again as he stood from his seat to circle around the table. He took up Barbossa's glass of rum and swallowed it greedily and unsympathetically. "..I'm not leaving ya alone on me ship again, so try to busy yourself with something in Tortuga, will ya? Perhaps find men to add to the crew, pick up a wench if your hideous beard doesn't scare 'er away, you know..." It was slightly humorous, at least to Jack, how he added that in so smoothly.

---

Barbossa watched as Jack took his glass of rum and drank it down easily, the older man rolled his eyes at how the captain was addicted to such a liquid. Sure, he had to admit he enjoyed the dark rum from time to time, but no where near as often as Jack did. He seemed to always been under the influence of the stuff. Good, it was always easier to steal things from men who were drunk or hungover.

As it seemed right now their conversation wasn't going to head anywhere, so Barbossa just stood up and walked around Jack with ease, eying him for a moment before reaching for the door handle and opening it for the man, "Then don't bother me until we reach Tortuga, if you don't mind. I have some things I need to look over."

He lied, he just wanted to sulk in private. No sense in showing Jack that maybe, just maybe, he had gotten the best of Hector Barbossa, but only for now. No, Barbossa wouldn't let it last for long. His pride just wouldn't allow such a thing.

---

Even if it had not really been that way, that Barbossa's spirit as a captain had been dampened, Jack would have taken it as such. He always like to imagine that he had gotten the best of his opponents, even if it wasn't entirely so. Honestly, it didn't matter, because in time Jack Sparrow _always_ won. Or...almost always won. He was a deathly persistent man, never stopping until he got what he wanted, or found something he wanted more, or simply just lost interest. One thing that would never be the cause of him not succeeding is that he gave up. Jack never gave up.

The captain followed Hector with his eyes as he stood and led him to the exit. Jack stared, standing by the table for a good moment, lips pursed in thought. What things could he possibly want to look over that didn't involve him- it being Jack's ship again and all. Nevertheless, after setting down the empty wine glasses, Sparrow moved towards the door Barbossa had opened for him. "This is _my_ office." He reminded, eyeing the character as if he were going to refuse and kick the man off his ship right then and there. Instead, Jack left it at that, sauntering out the door with a proud ego glow. There was something about the scraggly bearded man that seemed like he should be kept aboard for just awhile longer.

Now back to Elizabeth Turner. With a respectable nod towards the familiar plump and skinny pirates, Jack made his way across the deck and towards the wheel of his beloved ship. Seeing that she hadn't swung the ship into a random direction, run into any large rocks or anything, or let them blow off course, Jack was quite pleased as he approached her from behind. His arms lifted to brush her shoulders from where he stood silently behind her. His hands moved slowly down her arms until his hands rested over hers on the wooden wheel. He breathed softly through a smile, his lips placed close to her ear.

"You're becoming quite the pirate, m'dear." He commented in a low voice. His body was barely brushing the back of hers. This is what he called seduction. But, of course, such a thing wouldn't work against a happily married woman such as Elizabeth, correct? Ha. That's what she would like him to believe.

---

Barbossa had expected him to tell him to get out, leave the office that rightfully belonged to him - at least in Jack's eyes. But he didn't, he just simply walked out leaving the old man in the offices alone as he shut the door and went back to sit down in the chair he had just been occupying. His feet went up on the table once more as he watched Jack head back up to the wheel toward Elizabeth and he shook his head, "I'll be damned, Pintel was right - Gonna owe him a bottle of rum."

--

Elizabeth had been enjoying the view of the sea as she stood with her hands resting on the wooden wheel, there wasn't much she had to do since it was already heading in the right direction toward Tortuga. She just had to stand there and make sure the wind or something didn't take them off course. When she heard the door shut to the office area she knew one of them was coming out - most likely Jack. She didn't bother turning around to look, just let the breeze of the sea roll over her face as she stood there.

When she felt the familiar warm sensation of Jack's hands on her shoulders she was tempted to pull away, but instead just stood her ground, acting as though nothing was happening at all. She had to swallow hard to contain the jagged breath rising in her throat when his hands fell upon hers. At first she ramained still, just watching the sea, but finally the spark sensation in her stomach became too much to bear she pulled her hands from under his and turned around, not expecting him to be this close.

her eyes went wide in shock at the sight of his face mere centimeters away from hers. She bit down on her bottom lip as she stared into his eyes with intensity before regaining her composure, "Just manning the ship until its captain returns." Her voice was equally low as she leaned forward as though she were going to kiss him, but then quickly ducked out from between his arms and took a few steps away.

"So Barbossa fine with us heading to Tortuga?" She asked as though nothing had happened - God, she was getting good at hiding things.

---

A smirk crossed his features as Elizabeth ripped her hands away from his. She acted as if he were one giant red hot coal, and it would simply kill her to touch him. Too loyal to Will, he found her to be. Most of the time, at least. He would never be able to rid his memory of the day he died. Jack liked to tell himself that she killed him just so she could kiss him. Yes, he did rather enjoy that thought. Was he going to kill him again now, as she leaned close, her lips within centimeters. No. He felt a rush of cool, fresh air hit his face as she ducked underneath his arm. He raised his brows, turning around and closing in the space she had taken up so that he was resting against the wheel of his ship.

" 'O course. It's not like 'e would have a say in it otherwise. The man's in denial. 'e's got this crazy idea he has some control. Loony." He told her, arms crossed firmly over his chest as his gaze followed the girl. He found it quite enjoyable to make fun of Barbossa, even though the man was nearly his equal. Nearly…but not quite.

Though his main concern was to mess with her mind a tad, tempt her and tease her, he didn't mind talking business. For some reason, it filled him with pride to see her separate from her holey, justice, good-girl ways and laws that her departed father had raised her by. Maybe it was because he was sure it was him who had exposed her to the pirate life. Him, and her dearest William.

---

Elizabeth shook her head slightly, trying her best to get the images out of her mind. She had wanted to kiss Jack Sparrow. That's right; Elizabeth Turner wanted to kiss Jack Sparrow, it was at the last moment she pulled away, knowing she was just another one of his pawns. That's what got her the most - was that she secretly found herself falling and drawn to this man when all she was was a stupid pawn in his seduction games. That really seemed to get her. She was not going to be one of his other wenches, besides, she was a happily married woman after all. Well, the married part was right.

"How long do we plan to stay at Tortuga? I'm staying on the ship." She added, "No way I'm going to down there to be groped by men who believe they are God's gift to women, although, I think I'm already getting that on this ship."

She was obviously talking about Jack and she didn't care if he knew it. She just gave a simple smile and walked off toward the edge of the ship again, looking down at the blue water that crashed all around them as they headed back toward Tortuga.

---

Each insult she shed just made Jack smile. His ego was far too inflated to have the words mean anything against him. Of course, he always had a good comeback in mind. "_Believe_? What if they needn't _believe_? What if they _are_?" He retorted, his eyes slipping down from her face to move over the length of her body. If only she knew what wonders he could do for a woman. Things far more ungodly than William would ever perform. Dark brown eyes suddenly snapped away, back out to sea as he gnawed at his lower lip. The girl had wanted to kiss him. He knew that. He also accepted the fact that he wanted to kiss her as well. Hell, Elizabeth even knew that Jack wanted to take her to bed with him. She was an attractive woman, therefore worthy of his bed.

He'd tame her. He'd do these things to her, tempt her, until she didn't pull away from his touch anymore. It was unbelievable that she had been able to stay out of his reach for this long. Elizabeth, no longer a virgin thanks to _Will_, had tasted blood, and now wasn't she supposed to want more? If she was to stay loyal, she couldn't have more between a ten year period. Ten years was a long time.

"Jus' a while." He answered suddenly, as if he had forgotten she had asked how long they were going to stay in Tortuga, and he had just now remembered. "Long enough to round up a crew." Usually, Sparrow would stay a day, giving him time to pick up a wench and a few loads of rum. But this time, it wouldn't go that way. It was just this morning that he had left a woman in bed to wake up alone, her godly gift to all woman no longer sleeping beside him. Jack Sparrow knew that if he happened to run into her, he'd be in for a good slap- something he was used to by now.

---

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "It must be exhausting for you to live with that ego at all hours of the day and night." She smirked slightly as she turned around from the edge and leaned against the old wood of the ship, facing Jack with an amused look.

She knew the wonders he could do for her - well, she didn't doubt they were wonders. Of course, she'd thought about it a few times, but she was only human after all. Thinking and acting were two very different things. She knew he had experience out the ears and was probably very talented in many areas, but that didn't change the fact that she was married. It didn't matter that that man would be gone for the next ten years, she would be loyal. She had to be, there was no other choice. Not in her mind at least. Of course she had her needs, but they would just have to be put on hold for the next ten years, no harm in that, right?

Ha, it wouldn't be that easy. She knew that much.

"What if they refuse to come with you?" She asked, deciding to drop the subject, hoping it would pull her mind away from it as well. She needn't think about such things, especially when it comes to being about Jack. She would have to be a true lady and keep her thoughts as far from such topics as possible.

---

Jack's vision had swept back onto Elizabeth as she moved to lean against the edge of the ship. He released his lower lip, his mind wandering perversely. When reality finally came back to him, he busied himself with her current question, the same one Barbossa had posed to him just moments before. Why was everyone so convinced his crew would refuse and deny him? They'd see. As soon as they docked at Tortuga, Gibbs, Cotton and his parrot, and Marty would come running up gleefully to their captain. Or at least, Jack hoped they would.

"Well…" He murmured softly, rising off of the wheel of his ship to move closer to Elizabeth, step by agonizingly slow step. His eyes caught hers and a smug grin appeared on his lips. "For you, let's hope that they come with me. Otherwise, we'll be nearly _all alone_ on this ship." He told her, emphasizing 'all alone'. On the other hand, Jack wouldn't mind that at all, as he slowly moved out one hand towards Elizabeth. He lowered his gaze to her hand, his fingers barely brushing the flesh there. Dark eyes flitted back up to hers with raised brows, like he was checking to see if she would pull again.

This was when he was going to tempt her again, tug her deeper into his seduction trap. It worked instantly on all other women, but Elizabeth was completely different, he had come to realize. She was more complex, and much deeper than the wenches of Tortuga. Nevertheless, Jack Sparrow was ruthlessly going to make Elizabeth question her love for Will.

---

Elizabeth watched as he began to walk toward her. His steps were slow and it made her raise a slight questioning eyebrow toward him. She knew what he was trying to do - Jack Sparrow always did seem to have one up on the art of seduction. She'd give him that, he was probably better than Will and any other man Elizabeth had come across, but seduction only went so far. As far as she was concerned it was nothing more than empty promises hidden in fancy words.

"All alone?" She questioned as he reached out and took her hand, part of her screamed for her to pull away. To just glare him down and tell him never to touch her again, another part just wanted her to play along with his game, not show him that she was afraid of what would happen if she were to give him. Not to give him the upper hand. Then the last part of her slightly wanted to touch him, but she refused to even think of that part.

Finally she took a few steps forward so that she was lightly pressed against him with a look of seduction in her own eyes, "Who said I don't like the idea of being _all_ alone?" Of course she was playing his game, what else would she to do? Act as though he were a flesh eating virus? Well, that was always an option. Of course, a piece in her mind really did think such a thing - but just a tiny piece.

"Pity, I suppose. I'm sure you could do me wonders." She smiled seductively, taking a few steps back from him and looking him up and down before shrugging her shoulders. With that she pulled her hand away and walked away from him yet again, once her back was turned toward him she couldn't help but blush slightly at her sudden actions and then smirk at the effect she probably had on him by doing it.

---

Electrical currents split through Jack's body, running between his legs and shooting through his chest as Elizabeth stepped forward boldly to brush his body with her own. His other hand moved to her back where he spread his palm and pressed her a tad bit closer, and then the same hand raised to place against her neck, tilting her mouth towards his. Their lips were incredibly close as she spoke to him in that seductive little voice. Her words honestly surprised him, but he knew what she was doing. Jack had found out before that as much as he could play his tempting games on her, she could do the very same to him. But, her games were not to get him to crawl into bed with her. She did that as plain torture for him.

Jack Sparrow's mouth had almost collapsed onto hers when she decided to suddenly walk away from him. He was left standing there awkwardly, his entire body vibrating with his desire to just strip her of her clothing and have his way with her. That was so Jack, wanting such a thing from a married woman. Maybe it was a lucky thing for her that she had walked away just in time, or else Ragetti and Barbossa would be oweing a few good bottles of rum.

With a glance back at her, Jack sneered faintly. "Damn her." He muttered underneath his breath. But how many time would she be able to walk away from him just like that? The captain returned to the wheel of his ship, turning it just a tad to get them back on course from where they had strayed. Unfocused eyes out on sea, he could spot the fringe of Tortuga's dock along the horizon. However, his mind wasn't on Tortuga any longer, thanks to Elizabeth Turner.

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**arraya- Iiiiii will post more now! **

**halcyon x- Oh, yes that definitely does make sense. But, you know, this is a roleplay between me and Tink. I tried to make it run as smoothly as possible, though. So sorry, I hope you're still enjoying it! I did try to take that advice and...yeah, the next chapter will be better at running smoothe. And spank you, for the compliment of my Jack. I play Sparrow, Ragetti, Francis, Gibbs, and Cotton. Tink plays all others.**


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